Revelations
by Strate
Summary: Sequel to Unexpected Encounters. Tails and Rouge have been secretly dating for three months, but when Sonic finds out and everything goes wrong, how will everything end up for the fox and his lifetime brother? TailsXRouge. Tails/Sonic brotherly. Rated M for explicit content.
1. Busted

Delicious.

That was the only word that crossed Sonic's mind as he delightfully gobbled down his third chili dog of the day, sitting quietly on the table of Tails' workshop-house. Nothing like a good chili dog or ten to start the day off.

But in the middle of his meal, there was a knock on the door. Sonic sighed, since he knew that Tails was up in his room doing something with a machine or…well, he didn't really pay attention to what Tails had told him. He cannot concentrate with his stomach empty. Either way, that meant that he would have to go check who it was, leaving his poor little chili dogs alone.

"Be right back. Don't go anywhere…" Sonic said to his food with a wink. He really liked chili dogs.

He went to the door in a supersonic second, opening it quickly.

"Yes?" He asked, before actually seeing who was at the door. It was no one else than Rouge the Bat. And, if that wasn't suspicious enough for him, she was wearing clothes other than her usual outfit, particularly a rather…loose cleavage.

"Rouge? What are you doing here?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. Tails had never told him about his relationship with Rouge, even though they had been dating for months now. He couldn't find a good way to tell him, so he never did.

"Sonic…! Oh, uh…" Rouge said, startled. She didn't expect Sonic to be at the door, and she wasn't ready for it, either. "I was just…um…looking for Tails! Is he here?" She asked, trying her best to slip away from Sonic without making him suspicious.

"What do you want with him?" Sonic asked, crossing his arms. Rouge may have been a friend lately, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to keep an eye on her when she acted suspicious.

"I…um…I came to pick up something! Yeah! Tails was going to make me a better communicator for GUN and he said he had it ready…" Rouge said out of the tip of her tongue.

"Hmm…So that was the 'work' Tails was talking about earlier…? Alright then, he's up there on his room…" Sonic said, finally dropping the subject as he let Rouge in. She sighed in relief that she was able to slide out of that.

"Thank you, I didn't mean to interrupt…whatever you were doing." Rouge added, trying to make him forget about her by reminding him what he was doing beforehand, and it succeeded. Sonic suddenly jumped up as he remembered.

"Oh, yeah! Uh, it's nothing, just go and get your communicator thingy, I have to finish something…" He said as he sped off back to the table. "_And by something, I mean my meal…_" He thought hungrily.

Rouge smiled as she saw Sonic run towards the other room.

"Now that that's over…" Rouge muttered as she started walking towards the stairs "…I can finally go see my little foxy…" She whispered, giggling. GUN had given her missions all week and she had been unable to see Tails up until now. She was very eager to go see him.

Rouge walked up the stairs and went to the door of Tails' room. She saw it was unlocked, and that gave her a rather playful idea. She silently opened it to see the young fox working on something on his desk, with his back facing her. She smirked and snuck up behind him.

Rouge tried to contain her giggles as she hugged him from behind, startling Tails as she pulled him in the air towards her, turning him around and smooching his face several times. She had wanted to do that all week.

"Hi, darling." Rouge said in a playful tone as she hugged the fox tighter.

"A-aahh…! H-h-hi Rouge…" Tails stuttered, blushing deeply from both the kisses Rouge had given him and the fact that the way he was pulled towards her combined with his unfortunate height made his face become buried into her cleavage.

Rouge smirked again. She was doing that on purpose. She even brought those clothes with the sole purpose of seducing him.

"So, what were you doing, handsome?" She asked as she sat back down on the desk, with Tails sitting in her lap.

"Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot! Here, take a look…" He said as he reached at something on top of the desk. It was a ring with a small diamond on top of it.

"I made this myself…just for you…" He said, blushing slightly at the last bit. "I used part of the diamond you gave me on our first 'date'."

"Tails…it's beautiful…" Rouge said, looking at the ring. She had seen a lot of jewelry and many different rings in her life, but having one hand-made by Tails made it much more special than any other. She immediately slid it into her finger, admiring it.

"I love it!" She said, letting the jewel flash in the sunlight of the window. "Thank you so much, sweetie…" She whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist as she neared her lips towards his.

In a matter of seconds, their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. Tails wrapped his arms around Rouge's neck, making another seductive idea pop inside her head. She stood up and lifted Tails in the air, so that he was now clinging on to her.

In order to avoid falling and breaking the kiss, Tails had to wrap his legs around Rouge's waist, which was exactly what she wanted. The position was very seductive, and it quickly turned them on.

Rouge began walking towards the bed and pushed Tails down on it, still locked in the kiss. On most of their sexual encounters, Rouge was on top. Her dominant attitude and Tails' submissive one made a good combination and they were both content with it.

Rouge started to remove her clothes and, assisted by Tails, was naked in a few seconds. Before Tails had a chance to do anything else, however, his face was stuffed by Rouge's breasts while she pinned him down, leaving him completely immobile.

"Mmph…! A-aah…R-rouge…ooohh…" The fox said, muffled by the bat's voluptuous breasts as she slowly began rubbing them up and down his muzzle. She knew that he had developed a weakness for them, and as such she always made sure to use that to her advantage whenever she had the chance to. It never took more than a few seconds to leave him completely helpless for her to do whatever she wanted to him.

"Could you do a favor for me, sweetie?" Rouge whispered in his ear in a low, seductive tone while keeping her chest rubbed up in his face.

"Y…yes…of course…anything…" Tails mumbled, now completely in Rouge's control.

"…I want you to lick me with that little foxy tongue of yours…I really miss how that feels…" She said, sliding her hands around his waist and grabbing his hands, slowly taking off his gloves. "…And I want to feel those claws, too…" She cooed, looking at the fox's hands and already feeling aroused with the thought of having his claws running through her body.

"Could you do that for me, sugar?" She said, adding an extra rub of her breasts to hypnotize him even more.

"Oohh…of…of course…" Tails said, obediently slithering his long vulpine tongue through Rouge's chest while he gently dragged his sharp claws through her torso and her rear.

"Mmm…yes…good boy…" Rouge said, moaning and shivering as Tails happily pleased her in many different ways.

Tails was enjoying their time as much as Rouge was, but while his way of obeying and submitting to Rouge was something normal in him that he didn't really mind, to anyone else he would look almost like a sexual slave.

Anyone else, like the eye spying through the keyhole of his room.

In the middle of their moment of pleasure, the door of Tails' room was forcefully kicked open, revealing a scene that Tails always feared would happen since his relationship with Rouge started.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!"

* * *

**To be continued...**

_I know it was kind of short, but I needed this cliffhanger for the next chapter to look better. ALSO BECAUSE I'M EVIL AND I WANT YOU TO WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT! MWAHAHAHAHA! I mean...that's what authors are supposed to do, right? ...Right?_


	2. A Broken Friendship

**A/N:**** This was my first time separating moments of time in the same chapter. I think that turned out pretty good, but anyways, I hope you like this chapter, longer than the last one, as I promised. Chapter 3 on its way! I know that this is not the best story, and I certainly don't expect it to be, but I just do this for fun and for all those TailsXRouge fans that really want something new to read. So, onward with the story!**

* * *

Sonic finished sliding his last chili dog into his mouth, filling his belly completely as he left his plate empty.

"Ahh…That felt awesome!" He said as he stretched and stood up from the table. "I guess I should go for a run…"

He began walking towards the door when he remembered something. He looked at the stairs that led to Tails' room and thought for a moment.

"_Is Rouge still here?_" He thought, deciding to go check for himself.

As he went up the stairs, he began hearing strange sounds coming from the room. It was Tails, and he was moaning.

"…What's going on up there?" Sonic muttered to himself as he walked up to the door and tried to open it. However, it was locked.

"…Buddy? You alright in there?" He asked, but heard no response. The moans felt louder, and he also heard Rouge's voice inside. Finally, he decided to peek inside through the keyhole to see what was happening.

His eyes widened at the sight and he suddenly felt an immense fury take over him. Without hesitating in the slightest, he took two steps back and charged forward, delivering a powerful kick that broke down the door without a problem.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Tails and Rouge both were surprised by the sudden interruption, looking up with confused and startled looks on their faces. The two of them were shocked when they saw Sonic, infuriated.

"S-Sonic!" Tails said out of surprise, but before he could say anything else, Sonic ran up next to him and pulled the kit behind him.

"Do you think you can just come in here and do that to my little bro?!" He yelled at Rouge, who was covering her body with a look of embarrassment and fear.

"N-no! Wait, it's not what you-" Before she finished her sentence, Rouge was forcefully pushed back, falling into the floor and next to the wall.

"Sonic! Wait!" Pleaded Tails, grabbing the livid hedgehog's shoulder. Sonic was barely paying attention to the tone he used, though.

"Don't worry, buddy. I won't let her anywhere near you." Sonic said without taking his angered eyes off Rouge.

"And YOU! I'm going to teach you not to mess with Tails!" He said, preparing to attack her worse than he would have done with anyone else, even Eggman.

"I told you to wait, Sonic!" Tails yelled, getting in the way of Sonic and spreading his arms in a protective way towards Rouge.

"...What? What is it?" Sonic asked, confused as to why Tails would want to defend her.

"Listen! She…she wasn't doing anything bad to me!" He said, fearing what Sonic was going to say next.

"What?! But…but…I saw her-…"

"I know, but it's not what you think…"

"Then…what is it…?"

Tails took a deep breath. He knew that it was finally time to spill the whole truth out.

"I've…been dating Rouge for three months now. And we've also…um…mated…more than once…" He admitted, looking down in embarrassment and fear.

"You…you WHAT?!"

"I wanted it! I wanted to know how it felt, and I don't regret it!" He said firmly.

"Are you crazy?! You're too young for that!" Sonic yelled, now getting angry at Tails as well.

"No, I'm not! I've grown up, Sonic! I can take care of myself!" Tails snapped back at him.

"I know that! But this is still too much!"

"Why?! Why is it too much?!" Tails said trying to make Sonic think if it really was so wrong what he was doing.

Sonic growled and said in a trembling voice, "Y-you could…get a disease…or get her pregnant! Did you even think about that? Do you even know how to raise a child?!" He snarled at Tails, who went from anger and fear to shock and confusion.

"I-I…I didn't think about…-"

"No! You didn't! You didn't even know about any of that, did you?" Sonic asked.

"I…didn't know…" Tails admitted in shame.

"But YOU…" Sonic said as he turned to Rouge. "You DID know about this…you knew all about these things that could happen…and you did that to him anyways!" Sonic yelled, once again taking a threatening step towards the now frightened bat. He raised his fist up, but before it made contact with Rouge's face, it was stopped by Tails.

"Stop." He said simply as he pulled Sonic away from Rouge.

"What?! You're still trying to defend her?! She hid all of that from you! She didn't care about you at all!"

"No. Stop saying that. Stop talking about her like that!" Tails said, taking a much more serious and almost intimidating tone as he did so.

Sonic was getting more and more frustrated. He felt as if…he was losing his little brother. He felt that Tails was starting to get away from him. His fists started quivering.

"Why do you keep defending this…this…this _BITCH_?!" Rouge covered her mouth and gasped slightly. She wasn't nearly as hurt by the statement as she was worried about Tails' reaction when Sonic said that.

"…Get…out of here…" Tails snarled in a low and menacing tone, his fists shaking as well.

"…Tails-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Tails shouted, pointing at the door. Sonic simply stood there, without saying anything.

"…Fine."

In no more than a second, there was a blue trail, a small gust of wind, and Sonic was no longer there.

Rouge stood in shock at everything that just happened in front of her. While Tails and Sonic were screaming at each other, she had slipped back into her clothes. That was all she could do. She was out of words; she had no say in this.

And she was still out of words. The young two-tailed fox that was standing in front of her still had his back facing towards her, and she couldn't even bring herself to say anything, or get close to him. She was afraid that when she did, he would barrage her with screams about why she knew the dangers of mating with him like that and still went on with it anyways.

Tails slowly turned around, and when his gaze met Rouge's, the bat flinched. Her eyes were tightly shut and her ears folded back slightly against her head. She couldn't open her eyes; she was too scared to do so.

"…Rouge…" Her ears twitched slightly at his voice. It sounded soft, calm, and comprehensive. She opened her eyes slowly to see his face almost directly in front of hers, but instead of an angry or betrayed look on his face, his expression was tranquil and serene. "…Did you really know about all that?"

Rouge felt extremely bad as she answered that question. "Y…yes…"

"…Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I…I was afraid…that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore…if…i-if you knew…" Rouge once again couldn't bear to look at Tails anymore. What she said, and what she had been doing for months, was one of the most selfish things she's ever done, and that was certainly saying a lot.

After what felt like a torturing eternity, Rouge sensed something on her, a warm, once-again-gloved hand that held her face towards it. Before opening her eyes, her lips became locked with Tails' in a tender and unexpected kiss.

When Tails pulled his mouth away from hers, Rouge could only stare at him in surprise and confusion.

"…I would never do that. I'll never leave your side, Rouge." Tails whispered as he hugged her. Rouge felt her heart suddenly start pounding much faster after hearing those words. She hugged him back tightly.

"…Could you please stay here tonight? I…don't want to be left alone right now." Tails said quietly.

"…Of course. _I'll never leave your side_." Rouge said with a smile, mimicking the same soft and charming tone Tails used when he said that to her. Tails chuckled, already feeling a little better.

* * *

They spent the whole day on his house. Tails offered to make Rouge something to eat, but she said she would just take a fruit or something. She didn't want to abuse Tails' hospitality, especially since she felt that everything that happened between him and Sonic was her fault.

They didn't touch the topic. Rouge didn't dare to, and she guessed Tails didn't want to. However, they did talk about a very sensitive subject.

"So…All that could really have happened to me…?" Tails asked in a soft tone after Rouge explained in painful detail all the possible illnesses he could get from what they have been doing for months. They also briefly talked about pregnancy, but Rouge didn't want to talk about that as much, so she tried to revert back to the previous question each time he asked.

"…Yes…I'm…I'm so sorry…" Rouge said, looking down and twiddling with her fingers, feeling shameful and guilty.

"I said that you don't have to be sorry. Even if I had known, I would still have done it." Tails said, smiling playfully and hugging her.

No matter how much Rouge tried to, she couldn't help but smile whenever she felt his warm fur embracing her. She looked into the kit's young, sky blue eyes that once again held the joy and happiness she always saw in them, and smiled at him.

"…Thank you…" She said as she returned the hug. The rest of the afternoon felt much calmer and soothing to the both of them, but when night took over and it was time for them to go to sleep, Rouge knew that she would have to ask Tails about Sonic, and Tails knew he would have to answer.

* * *

Tails sat on his bed, looking at his feet as he idly waved them about. So many thoughts filled the young fox's mind as he remembered what happened that morning. How he yelled at Sonic, how Sonic yelled at him…how he just left…He felt that this was a mistake he wouldn't be able to fix. He had finally pushed his brother away from him.

A few tears began dripping from his eyes. He sniffled, trying to contain them, but failing. He finally gave up and kept weeping, letting the tears flow freely into the floor. Not long after his sobs started, he felt something warm embrace him. He turned around, slightly jumping at the sudden surprise. Rouge, who was now changed into a night dress that he kept for the times she stayed in his house, was hugging him with a sad look on her face.

"…Do you want to talk about him?" She asked softly, trying to ease the kit's tears and partially succeeding. He buried his face in her shoulder and sniffled a few times before answering.

"N-…Y-yes…" He quickly changed his answer. Rouge understood that Tails had his doubts, but he needed to talk about it, maybe that way she could help where she couldn't before.

Rouge pulled the covers over the two of them and ran her hand tenderly through the fox's head as he began talking.

"I…Shouldn't have k-kicked him out…" He sniffled. "…He hates me…I-I know it…"

"Sweetheart, don't say that." Rouge began in a comforting tone. "You two have a special bond. He doesn't hate you. Why do you think he was trying so hard to protect you?" She explained to him.

"Why…because…b-because…" Tails felt that the answer was there, but the words wouldn't come out. Rouge helped him complete that sentence.

"…Because he cares for you, a lot. You two need to patch things up, and tomorrow we will go look for him, okay?"

"B-but…I can't…I can't look at him anymore! I yelled at him! I kicked him out! I…I…"

"…You defended me. And that's why I'm going to be there with you. I need to talk to him as well, and I'm going to make things up between you two, I promise." Rouge assured Tails as she held him in a tight hug.

Tails smiled warmly as he returned the hug. He let out a small yawn and his namesakes stretched for a second. Rouge giggled at the cute action.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." Rouge whispered as she turned off the lights. Her and Tails knew that confronting Sonic the next day wouldn't be easy, but they let those thoughts move to the back of their minds as they cuddled in their warm cot and drifted into sleep.


	3. Emotional Confrontation

Tails' eyes slowly opened, taking in the sun rays coming from the window. He stirred and was about to stretch, but he felt something holding him down. Trying to adjust his eyes, he looked down to find Rouge asleep, clinging on to him tightly.

The young fox smiled at his lover, giving her a small kiss on the forehead. His affection was subconsciously returned as Rouge snuggled closer to him and into his chest, muttering his name happily in her sleep.

Tails smiled and sighed, knowing that he wasn't going anywhere for now. He hugged the batgirl and cuddled with her. A few minutes later, Rouge woke up.

"…Morning, cutie…" Rouge's voice came in a sleepy tone as she yawned and nuzzled the fur under Tails' neck.

"Good morning…" Tails whispered as Rouge slowly pulled herself up.

"How are you feeling?" Rouge asked, trying to make the question sound as light as possible.

Tails smiled and hugged her.

"…I feel…better." Tails said, but Rouge thought that she could make him feel even better.

"Aww, really? I'm so glad, sweetie…" She said, cupping the fox's cheeks together and rubbing her nose against his lovingly. Tails blushed at the sudden affection and let out a childish giggle.

Rouge smiled as she saw her lover's face brighten up. She wanted to keep hearing that cute laugh; to keep him as happy as she could. She began kissing his nose and his cheeks, earning more smiles and giggles from the kit.

A few minutes passed, and before Tails knew it, he was being gently rocked in Rouge's arms as she kept kissing his forehead tenderly. He felt warm and secure, but there was also something in the back of his head that started bothering him.

"…Rouge…?" He asked quietly. The bat heard him and stopped her movements, looking at the fox.

"Yes, cutie?"

"I thought…that you would stop treating me like a child…?" Tails said, looking at her with a slightly raised eyebrow. The way Rouge had been treating him for the past minutes felt almost as if she was playing with a baby.

Rouge waited for a few seconds before saying anything. She brought her hand back to his cheek and held it up.

"Tails…I'm not treating you like a child…it's just that…um…" She said, looking away from him. She couldn't find the words she was looking for, or rather, she felt ashamed of saying them.

"It's just that…no matter how old you get…you'll always be…my…my little foxy…" She said, blushing and looking away. That was how she's always thought and how she'd always think of him.

"…But still…" She said, turning her gaze back into his eyes, "…That doesn't mean I think of you as a child…" She whispered as she pulled him closer into a deep kiss. Tails quickly fell into it, his eyes rolling back as he felt Rouge's hand stroking his yellow-colored hair.

When she released Tails from the kiss, Rouge squeezed the kit close to her.

"…That's enough proof for you?" She whispered with a playful smirk.

"Y-y-yes…" Tails stuttered out. Rouge always managed to hypnotize him with her charms, and he believed that it would always be like that as well.

"And…Rouge…" He said, snuggling back into her arms in the same position they were earlier.

"I…I promise I'll always be your…um…your little foxy, too…" He said, blushing as well and hugging her tightly. Rouge could only smile and kiss him again as they happily cuddled in the bed. Now the two of them knew for sure that, no matter how much time passed, nothing would ever change between them.

* * *

Once they finally decided to leave bed, Tails and Rouge had a quick breakfast which Rouge offered to make. Tails didn't really have much of a choice, since he didn't know much about cooking, and Rouge wouldn't allow him to anyways.

After eating, they went outside of his house. Tails closed the door and locked it, looking at Rouge with a slightly nervous expression. Rouge guessed what he was thinking and smiled at him.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to go just fine." She assured him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Trust me."

Tails smiled back at her and looked ahead, thinking about what would happen when they found Sonic. "…Thank you."

The two of them walked along the soft sand of Seaside Hill, a place Sonic frequented whenever he was bored or wanted to be alone for a while. They looked around the vast area but found only palm trees and rocks. After a long hour of searching, Tails screamed in frustration.

"Argh! We'll never find him! He's probably far away from here, avoiding me! He hates me!" He yelled, falling into his knees on the sand and slamming his fist down in anger.

"He…He hates me…" Tails said weakly as he broke down into tears.

Rouge kneeled down next to the kit and gently wiped the tears off his eyes.

"Don't say that. He doesn't hate you. You two just need to talk things over and then everything will be alright…" She whispered quietly, letting Tails sniffle a few times in her shoulder as she hugged him.

"…D-do you think we'll find him?" He asked quietly. Rouge stood up with him and took his hand.

"Yes. We'll find him, and even if we don't, we can always look for him tomorrow. He's bound to show up sooner or later." Accepting that answer, Tails walked along with her.

They searched through the entire zone, looking desperately for Sonic. Rouge noticed not far away a bunch of tall palm trees together, covering a medium-sized area with their shadow. Below them was a big rock and sitting on it was…Sonic.

Rouge tapped Tails' shoulder and directed his attention towards the cobalt hedgehog who had not yet noticed them. Tails felt a lump in his throat forming as soon as he saw him, but Rouge's hand on his shoulder reassured him as they approached him silently.

Gaining his attention felt like the hardest part at the time. Whenever he reached up with his hand, Tails lost his confidence and retracted back. Finally, after about five attempts, Rouge unexpectedly tapped Sonic's shoulder, making it seem like Tails had done it.

"S-Sonic…" Came out his stuttering voice. The blue hedgehog only seemed to take a small glance before returning to look back down.

"…What are you doing here?" Appeared his voice as well, but cold and almost pained. "I thought you hated me?"

"What? N-no…I don't hate you…" Tails said, honestly surprised that Sonic thought that.

"Oh really? Well, it sure didn't seem like that yesterday!" He said, standing up and looking at him in the eyes.

"S-S-Sonic…I'm sorry…I didn't…I didn't mean what I said…I was angry…p-please forgive me…"

Sonic stood there, not saying anything. But what Tails didn't realize until it became obvious was that his eyes were becoming watery.

"S…Sonic…? Are you…crying…?"

"…You know…When you were yelling at me…I…I felt…really bad. I felt as if…as if I was losing my little bro…" He said, the tears that were being held in his eyes now starting to freely stream down. Tails was in the same, if not worse, state.

"B-but…you'll never lose me! I mean, I'm always going to be your brother! I was just…just angry…I was scared that you would hate me when you…found out…" At this point, Rouge stepped into the conversation.

"…Listen, I think both of you were angry yesterday, and that's why things got so aggressive…but you care for each other, don't you?" She asked, looking at the two of them. The hedgehog and the fox both nodded.

"…Then you don't have anything to worry about." She said, smiling. She then stepped closer to Sonic and placed her hand on his shoulder again.

"…Look, I know that you were just trying to protect him…but I promise, I didn't mean anything bad for him. I honestly…I honestly love him…" She said. Tails face seemed to brighten up a lot upon hearing those words.

Sonic looked at her with a stern face, almost as if he was judging her words. He then whispered something.

"…If you ever do anything to hurt him…I swear…"

"I won't do anything. I promise."

Sonic finally seemed to relax. He looked back at Tails with a sad look on his face.

"Tails…buddy, I'm sorry…"

"Oh, come on…you can do better than that!" Rouge said as she pushed Sonic towards Tails. "Now, I want to see a hug." She said, smiling.

They both hesitated for a moment, but Rouge slowly forced them closer until they were hugging. She let them go afterwards and they continued on their own. It wasn't long before they were both truly squeezing each other and letting another set of tears loose.

"W-waah…S-Sonic…please forgive me…I-I never meant to yell at you like that…w-waah…"

"No…n-no, you don't have to say anything…I-I shouldn't have…s-snapped at you…I'm s-sorry…"

"Aww…that's adorable…" Rouge said as she looked at the two brothers embracing each other.

Once the tears died down, the three of them sat down to wrap everything up for good.

"Tails, if this is really what you want…then I promise I won't get in your way anymore."

"Thank you, Sonic…And I'm sorry for hiding this from you…"

"It's okay. I…I was being over protective…"

"There we go. It wasn't so hard in the end, was it, boys?" Rouge said, smiling.

Now with everything solved, the trio went back to Tails' house. The day was coming to a close, and they were getting ready to sleep.

"Are you sure you don't want the guest room, Sonic?" Tails asked as the hedgehog got situated on the couch, finding it comfortable enough to sleep on it.

"Nah, I'm okay with you two doing all that stuff, but I don't want to be hearing it the whole night, you know…" Rouge giggled slightly at that.

"Don't worry, we're…not gonna be doing that tonight."

"Well, I still like this couch. It's actually pretty nice."

"Okay then, I'll go get you a blanket…"

Sonic fell asleep as fast as he could run. Tails and Rouge stood there, watching as the blue hedgehog snored on the couch. Tails walked up to him and wrapped the blanket around him.

"…Good night, big bro…" He whispered, smiling. The fox and the bat then headed up to get ready for sleep themselves.

They slipped under the covers of the bed once more, this time the two of them much happier than before. Tails looked at Rouge with an innocently cute smile.

"Rouge…" He whispered, gaining her attention.

"Yes, cutie?" She said in a slightly flirty tone as she pulled up the blanket over them.

"I just wanted to say that…" He snuggled closer to her and Rouge felt his arms and his namesakes as well wrapping around her.

"…I love you too." Rouge simply stared at him, blinking for a few seconds before her face showed the happiest smile she's given in a long time.

That night, the two of them slept with smiles on their faces. Tails held Rouge on top of him as the bat used his chest and the fur below his neck as pillows, letting her enter another world of dreams where her fantasies now were all about her favorite little fox...

* * *

**A/N:**** I'm terribly sorry it took so long, but I promise the next chapter will come much faster. I'm also sorry for this being so terribly written, but oh well, you can't expect much from me. But if you DID like it, please leave a review!**


	4. The Nightmare

Sonic and Rouge sat on the seats of the waiting lounge, impatiently waiting as they took glances at the door every few minutes. After some time, the door finally opened, revealing Tails with a happy smile on his face along with a duck dressed in a white coat and with a patch on his eye.

The hedgehog and bat quickly got up and ran over to Tails.

"Well? How did it go?" Sonic asked him with a little worry.

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm completely healthy and fine!" He said joyfully. Sonic sighed in relief and hugged his little brother.

"I'm glad…"

Doctor Quack smiled at the two and then turned his head to Rouge.

"It's your turn now. Shall we?" He said, leading her into the clinical room. Rouge took a deep breath and walked in.

Sonic and Tails sat back down and began to wait for Rouge's results.

"I hope she's alright too…" Tails whispered with a little worry. Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry bro, I'm sure she's gonna be alright…" He said, trying to comfort Tails.

There seemed to be an awkward silence for who knows how long, but Tails soon broke the silence.

"…Hey, Sonic…?" He said quietly. Sonic turned around to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Um…tell me…is there…is there maybe…a possibility that…uh…that I can…still mate with Rouge…w-without having any kind of risk…?" He asked timidly. It did not help the fact that the question was so awkward and embarrassing to him.

Sonic stared at Tails for a few seconds, before sighing. He had already apologized for how he reacted when he found out, and while he didn't like the idea of Rouge having her way with his little brother, he already promised to not get in their way anymore.

"Well…I suppose that if you're careful and learn a little more about that before actually going into it, there won't be any risk…" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "But I'm not exactly the best one to tell you about that, since I'm still a virgin…" He said, blushing slightly and feeling rather embarrassed.

"You should look it up on your computer. You know, some of those medical sites you visited a few times?" Tails nodded, remembering seeing those, but never really going into much detail, especially on the breeding section.

"That's about as much as I can help you with, considering that I…uh…well, considering I'm…still a virgin, you know…" He admitted with a blush of embarrassment. Now that he had finally noticed, he felt really pathetic knowing that his little brother already had his first time months ago while he had yet to experience his.

"Oh, yeah…I never really thought about that…" Tails said, trying to contain a small giggle at the fact that he was actually the first one of the two to have had sex. Sonic nudged him with his elbow playfully as a way of saying 'Stop laughing at me!' The two of them were sharing a good moment like before, and Tails couldn't be happier that everything had finally gone back to normal between them.

A while after that, the door opened once more as Rouge and Doctor Quack came out. Tails quickly stood up and ran over to Rouge.

"Well? Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. Rouge simply giggled and picked the fox up in a hug.

"Relax cutie," She said, quickly kissing him on the cheek. "I'm as clean as a whistle."

Tails beamed with happiness at her answer and quickly returned the hug.

"That's a relief…"

As Tails happily snuggled into Rouge's shoulder, she looked back with the saddened expression she was hiding behind her fake smile at Doctor Quack, who simply shook his head and gave her a look of slight pity and disapproval.

* * *

The night was once again covering Tails' house. Sonic had gone for a nocturnal run, not feeling tired yet, which left Tails and Rouge to do whatever they wanted.

Rouge had decided to teach Tails how to cook better, partly because she didn't want him to eat some pre-cooked garbage when she wasn't there and also because Tails had asked her to let him cook for her at least once. Rouge felt lucky of having a man as devoted as him.

Tails tapped a pair of eggs against the frying pan and broke them, guided by Rouge's hands as he placed the eggs on the surface. They made a sizzling sound as they began cooking. Tails smiled and Rouge hugged him from behind, sneaking another kiss on his cheek.

"There, not so hard, right?" She asked.

"I guess not."

"Does that mean you'll be my personal chef now?" Rouge asked with a playful smirk, turning him around. Tails chuckled a little and hugged her.

"Of course, I'll cook for you whenever you want." He said, smiling.

"Aww, thank you…" She said, placing another loving kiss on his lips this time.

They continued cooking until the meal was ready. Sonic wasn't home, and said he was going to be a little busy, so he wouldn't be there until the next day. Tails was a little disappointed that he left so quickly after everything had been solved, but another part of him was also glad, because that meant he would spend the night alone with Rouge.

He looked back at his lover, and his cheeks flushed bright red at what he saw. Rouge had opened the lower cupboard to get out the plates, giving Tails a perfect view of her rear. Even after seeing her naked so many times before, he still felt very embarrassed in the position he was in. He felt his nose tingling and knew that if he didn't look away it would soon start bleeding.

However, no matter how hard he tried, his eyes couldn't move away from her.

Rouge turned around with a smile on her face, completely unaware of Tails staring at her. As soon as he saw her face, Tails jolted back into his senses and quickly turned around, rubbing his nose.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Rouge asked innocently, walking up to him and turning him around. Tails didn't have time to wipe all the blood off his nose and Rouge saw it.

"U-uh, I…I was just…"

Rouge was quick to understand what happened, and an amused smile appeared on her face. She giggled and wiped off the rest of the blood.

"Looks like someone's having some naughty thoughts, hmm?" She asked with a finger under Tails' chin.

"A-ah...! I…I'm s-sorry…" He said, looking down in shame. His head was brought back up, however, by Rouge's hand.

"If it was anyone else, I _would_ slap them, but I actually think it's an achievement that I could get _you_ to stare at me like that…" She said, kissing him on the lips again to prove she 'forgave' him.

"…Besides, it's not like it's the first time you see that 'side' of me…" She added with a wink.

They sat down on the table and began eating. Tails enjoyed his food normally, but when he looked up to see Rouge, he noticed she looked a little…worried. She was just picking the food with her fork and seemed to be spacing out in thought.

"Rouge…? Are you alright?" Tails asked. Rouge jumped in surprise and shook her head.

"H-huh…? Oh! Y-yeah, I'm alright." She said as she looked back down at her plate, the same look of anxiety on her face.

"Rouge…" Tails began as he reached out and gently grabbed her hand. This caused her to look back up to him.

"…If there's something wrong, you can tell me." He said, worried about her.

Rouge simply stared at him for a few seconds. She then realized that it was Tails sitting in front of her. The same little fox that would care for everyone and want to help with even the slightest problem. Of course he would notice. She gripped his hand softly and smiled.

"No…there's nothing wrong. Don't worry." She said as she stood up and gave him a love-filled kiss.

Tails, satisfied with her smile (and slightly dazed by the wonderful kiss he just received), returned to eating his food alongside a now happier Rouge.

* * *

Time seemed to pass faster than before that night. Before either of them knew it, sleep was pulling them in with a strong force.

Rouge got changed and Tails waited for her on the bed. He began thinking about how exactly he was supposed to ask what he wanted to ask her. He never had to ask before, because Rouge was the one who would always ask for (In other words, pull him into) another love-filled night.

Sooner than he thought, Rouge came into the room and slipped into the bed. Tails did the same and they moved closer to each other, Rouge wrapping her arms tightly around Tails.

"Um…Rouge? Can I ask you something?" Tails said shyly.

"Sure, cutie. What is it?"

"Uh…well…I…I was just wondering if you'd like to…um…" He said, trying to find the best way to put it. "M-maybe…now that we know nothing bad happened…maybe we could…uh…m-mate again…?"

Rouge's quite amused expression suddenly changed to a more nervous one.

"That's…I…I'd love to, but…I…don't think that's a good idea right now. I mean...uh…we just found out everything's alright…maybe we should give it a rest for a while. I'm sorry…"

"O-Oh…okay…" Tails said with a rather disappointed look on his face.

"But hey…" Rouge said as she held his face up and smiled at him. "…That doesn't mean we can't do something else…like cuddle…" She said as she did just that, snuggling deeper into the fox's neck.

Tails smiled and stirred a little to allow both of his namesakes the free space they needed to wrap themselves around his lover's body. He held her close and Rouge took the opportunity to kiss him again.

"I'd love to…" He said, smiling as he returned the kiss.

Rouge reached out to the desk lamp and turned it off. Tails let out a loud yawn, which told her it was time to go to sleep for the two of them.

"Goodnight…" She said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Goodnight…" He said as he almost instantly fell asleep. Rouge smiled and slowly laid her head on his chest, wandering off into sleep as well.

However, that smile slowly turned into a frown. A sad, desperate frown that matched the tone of the nightmare she was having in that moment.

"_When were you going to tell me?!_"

"_W-wait…! I-I didn't want you to find out like this-_"

"_Oh really? Were you just going to hide it from me?!_"

"_N-no! I…I just…_"

"_I can't believe it! I...I hate you! Go away! I don't want to see you again!_"

"_N-no…no…"_

_No…_

_No…_

"NO!"

Rouge bolted out of her nightmare, panting. She looked around her frantically, until she was stopped by the face of an extremely worried Tails.

"Rouge! What happened?"

"I…I…" Her mind was a mess in that moment. She didn't have time to answer his question.

"You must've had a nightmare…" Tails said, bringing her into a caring and protective hug. "Don't worry. Nothing bad happened. It was…just a nightmare."

Rouge simply fell into the fox's shoulder and hugged him tightly. She hugged him with a death grip, not wanting to let him go. Not wanting to lose him.

Like how she lost him in her dream.

**A/N:**Once again, I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter. My Writer's Block seems to get me stuck more often than before now…But I promise I'll get this whole thing through, no matter how much time it takes me to do so!

**Takeshie 96000:** I'm glad you liked my stories so much, and thank you for your review :) I always try to keep everyone as in-character as possible, ESPECIALLY in the Lemons. Although I don't think those are my forte...And I think you might be over-praising me there, because I'm certain there is someone much better than me, namely, CannedCream, the author of my all-time favorite story of this pairing, _Luck of the Draw_. If you haven't seen that, you should definitely check it out. But thank you so much for that review!


	5. Ambushed

**A/N: Okay, here we go. about two months later than it should, here is chapter 5. Sorry. REALLY sorry. I'll try to get the next one up faster.**

* * *

Rouge yawned, slowly opening her eyes and blinking a few times due to the light coming from the window. She rolled on her side, expecting to see a sleeping fox in front of her.

However, when she saw no one but her on the bed, she quickly sat up and looked around.

"…Tails?" She asked as she got up. She didn't hear a response.

In that moment, she remembered her nightmare.

"_I hate you!_"

"T…Tails…?"

"_I don't want to see you again!_"

"T-T…Tails…?" Rouge began to worry a lot. It felt almost as if her nightmare had been real, and Tails comforting her had been the dream. She immediately started running out of the room, screaming his name.

"TAILS!" She screamed, hoping with all her heart that he was still in the house.

When she ran inside the kitchen, her heart skipped a beat. She stopped almost face-to-face with a very worried Tails.

"Rouge! What's wrong? Why did you screa-" He was unable to finish his sentence, since he was immediately grabbed by Rouge and hugged so tightly that he couldn't breathe. Rouge began strongly crying. He had never seen her like that before, not even last night.

"Rouge…please…stop crying…what happened…?" He asked, hugging her back and trying to calm her down.

Rouge sniffled before slowly replying. "I…I-I thought you were…g…gone…"

Tails didn't understand just what she meant by that, but somehow, he thought it was his fault for not being there.

"I…I'm sorry, Rouge. I just wanted to make you breakfast, since you've always done it for me…I didn't mean to…scare you like that…" He said, hugging her back and rubbing the back of her head soothingly.

Rouge sniffled and looked back at Tails. To the fox's surprise, she was now smiling.

"…You'd blame yourself…just to make me stop crying…that's so cute…" She said, sniffling once more before pulling him into a quick but loving kiss.

Although that wasn't exactly how he was expecting their morning to go down, Tails happily returned the kiss.

Once Rouge recovered completely, they sat down to eat the breakfast Tails made. Rouge was delighted to see that her 'lessons' had paid off.

"This is really good! Looks like you're a fast learner..." She said, stroking the fox's hair tenderly as she took another bite of the meal he had prepared.

"Thank you…I tried to make it as good as I could." Tails said, smiling.

"Well, I'll tell you that this is better than what I could've done."

With the breakfast done, Tails stood up and walked over to Rouge, still being slightly careful in case she was still a little unstable.

"Rouge…What do you want to do today? We can do anything you want."

"Well…how about we go buy some food first? Last time I checked, your fridge was almost empty, and with that breakfast you made you should've run out already, right?"

"Oh…Well, yes, I don't have much left in the fridge."

"Let's go fill it back up then."

Tails took a bag of rings and they left the house. They headed to the market not too far from Tails' home, but it seemed to have very few people, even at the hour when it's usually full of customers.

"I wonder why there's almost no one here…" Tails muttered. Rouge noticed that as well.

"I'm not sure, but those guys are pretty weird…" She said, signaling to a group of three cloaked people that were standing on the other street. One of them was looking at her, or at least it seemed to through its covered face, and quickly looked away when it noticed she was also looking at it.

"Yeah, they do look pretty creepy, but let's just go buy our things." Tails said. Nodding, Rouge went into the groceries shop with him.

Behind the counter, next to the container that held the carrots and the one that held the cabbages, was a green colored Chao that happily greeted them.

"Chao, chao! (Welcome back, Tails!)"

Tails smiled and waved at the Chao.

"Chao, chao? (And who's with you?)" The Chao asked, looking at Rouge.

"Oh, this is Rouge. She's my…um, my girlfriend…" He said, blushing a little.

"Chao chao? Chao, chao! (You have a girlfriend? Well, congratulations!)"

"Thank you…"

"Chao, chao chao? (So, what can I do for you today?)"

"We're just going to buy some food."

"Chao Chao! Chao chao chao. (Perfect timing! I got a new load of fresh fruits and veggies.)"

"Alright, that should be enough for a week."

Tails and Rouge took the bags of groceries and Tails left the bag of rings in the counter.

"Chao! Chao chao! (Thanks! See you later, Tails!)" The Chao waved happily at them.

As they left the store, the two of them noticed that the streets were absolutely empty. Not even the shady cloaked people were there anymore.

"You know, I'm starting to miss those creepy people wandering around now…" Rouge muttered to Tails. He couldn't help but agree. The dead silence of the whole place was simply unsettling.

"Let's go back, Rouge-" As he said that, Tails was knocked down by something from behind. Rouge turned around to find two of the cloaked people charging towards her. One of them tackled her quickly while the other grabbed her arm, turning her around and swiftly pulling her ring out of her hand.

With their prize in hand, the thieves made a run for it while Tails and Rouge recovered from the sudden assault.

"No! You're not getting away!" Rouge yelled as she took off after the thieves. Tails got up shortly after and, after noticing what had happened, followed after them as well.

The thieves ran around a corner and jumped on top of a dumpster, using their agility to quickly jump through the windows of a building until they reached the rooftop. Rouge simply spread her wings and quickly flew all the way up, shortening the distance between them considerably.

Tails followed as well, flying up and noticing something on the other side of the street. The third member of the group of thieves was running along in par with its partners and starting to jump up to its side of the rooftops. Tails decided to fly towards the other side, just in case.

Rouge closed in on the thieves as they jumped from roof to roof, starting to lose speed to the much faster and angered bat. Right before she caught up to them, however, the one that had the ring suddenly jumped in the air and threw it forcefully to the other side.

The ring flew in the air and into the hands of the third thief, who thought had a perfect plan of escape, until it was knocked down from behind by Tails. The ring was once again in the air until it was caught by Tails. The thief tried to get back up, but was stomped by Rouge's boot and held down.

"It's not a good idea to steal from another thief…" She said, bringing down her boot on its chest forcefully.

"Um…Rouge? Shouldn't we…call the police?" Tails asked, slightly scared of how angry Rouge sounded.

"No…I think I'll just take care of this myself…" She said, pressing her boot against the thief again.

Rouge thought something was off about this person. Even though she was pressing a spot on the chest that would usually cause much pain, the thief wasn't responding at all. She decided to pull off the cloak, only to find another mask beneath it.

"You really don't want us to see your face, right? Surely you can't be that ugly…" She said, grabbing the mask and pulling it off. Behind it was nothing more than a generic robotic head.

"Ugh. I should've known…" Rouge said, taking her boot off the chest and instead putting it above the robot's head.

"This is what you get for trying to steal from me." She brought down her boot and crushed the robot's head.

Tails looked at the robot, trying to find something interesting. However, it was just a common robot. There was nothing to identify or trace, either.

"Do you think the other two were robots, too?" He asked. Rouge put her ring back on and smiled at it.

"…Probably. We should go get our things back. I hope they're still there…" She said as they began flying towards the front of the groceries shop.

Fortunately, their bags were still there and it didn't seem as if there was anything missing. They grabbed the bags and walked away.

On their way home, Tails noticed that Rouge was panting slightly.

"Rouge? Are you tired?" He asked with a little worry.

"Huh? Oh! No, no…I'm fine, don't worry." She said, even though her face clearly showed she wasn't 'fine'.

"Are you sure? Please, if you feel bad, tell me." Rouge could see that he was very worried about her.

"Don't…Don't worry…I'm alright…Ack!" As she said that, Rouge cried in pain and grabbed her stomach, letting go the bags.

"Rouge!" Tails yelled, dropping his bags as well and quickly falling to his knees next to her. "What happened?!"

Rouge only groaned in response.

"Don't worry, I'll get you home." He said as he picked her up like he always did. Before he took off, Rouge stopped him.

"H-hold on…" She said as she extended her arm and grabbed the bags from the floor.

"I'll carry them."

Tails nodded and spun his namesakes around, taking off into the sky and going towards his house.

By the time they reached Tails' house, Rouge's pain had calmed down and she was lightly dozing off on Tails' shoulder. They went inside and left the bags on the table. It was already the afternoon and Tails decided to get Rouge to bed before anything else.

Rouge yawned as Tails pulled the covers over her.

"Just rest, okay Rouge? I'll bring dinner here when it's ready." Tails said. Rouge smiled and kissed him.

"…Thank you." She said. Tails smiled as well.

"If you need anything, just call." With that, he left towards the kitchen.

Rouge rested her head on the pillow and tried to rest, however, she couldn't. It wasn't because the pain had returned, but rather, because her mind was too worried about something else to try and sleep.

She kept thinking about her nightmare, and how real it felt. What's more, now she was sure that it would be the worst thing that could happen if that nightmare became true. She was so angry when her ring was stolen; she just wanted to smash the thieves' heads open. And she did that. But the reason she was so angry wasn't just because they stole from her, but rather because what they stole meant so much to her.

That ring was special, because it was a reminder of when she started her relationship with Tails, and it also showed how he felt about her, how much he cared.

And if all that emotion was triggered from just a little ring, what would happen if she lost Tails himself? She was scared to think about that. So scared that she wished she could just forget that nightmare; erase it from her memory.

Her troubled thoughts were interrupted when Tails came into the room with a tray of vegetables.

"Here you go, Rouge. I hope you like it…" He said, smiling as he sat on the bed next to her and gave her the tray.

The worries and fears Rouge had were lost for the moment as Tails fed her with a fork. He always found the way to keep her happy. Besides, she couldn't possibly be sad or scared when she had such a sweet smile sitting right in front of her.

For the rest of the night, Rouge left behind all the anxiety and concern to simply enjoy as her lover cared for her.


	6. The Mastermind

**A/N:**** I know this is wayyyy overdue, but I had a barrage of writer's block after writer's block. That probably doesn't justify how long this took and how short it is, but here you have a nice plot twist to make up for it. Enjoy!**

* * *

This time, Rouge slept much better than the previous night. She felt happier knowing that her pillow was Tails' chest and her blanket was his namesakes. It seemed that her fears were slowly fading away into her memory.

She woke up, yawning and stretching on the bed, instantly noticing that, once again, Tails wasn't with her.

Rouge didn't panic this time, remembering the quite embarrassing moment she had the previous day.

She got out of the bed and went into the kitchen, expecting to see Tails there, cooking breakfast. But the kitchen was completely empty.

Rouge noticed something on the table and picked it up. It was a note.

_Rouge:_

_I went out to buy something for you. What is it? It's a surprise! I can't wait to see your face when you see it!_

_-Love, Tails._

Rouge smiled as she began thinking of what Tails could be preparing for her. Whatever it was, she was sure she was going to like it.

She decided to go make breakfast, so that she had at least something to thank Tails with when he gave her the surprise.

After eating her food, Rouge tried to think of something to do while she waited for Tails to come back. She decided to take a quick shower.

As she let the warm water fall down on her, Rouge began to think about the matter that she had been trying to avoid so desperately the past days. She was having an internal conflict about the way she was trying to handle the situation.

"_You can't hide it forever and you know it._" Said one voice inside her head.

"_I know what I'm doing, shut up!_" She quickly suppressed the voice. However, it got louder.

"_Really? Do you really think you have this under control? All you're doing is stalling._"

"_I'm not stalling anything! I'll find a way to solve this!_"

"_What do you mean by solve? There's nothing to solve here. All I see is you being stubborn-_"

"_Shut up._"

"…_Stupid..._"

"_Shut up._"

"…_and paranoid…_"

"_Shut up._"

"…_Because you're SCARED!_"

"SHUT UP!" Rouge yelled at the top of her lungs. She slammed her fist on the wall of the bathroom and her wings instinctively spread wildly.

After calming down from her outburst, Rouge finished showering and got dressed. She was angry at herself now because she knew that she would no longer be in the mood for whatever surprise Tails had prepared for her.

As soon as she thought about him, Rouge noticed that Tails still wasn't home. She was trying really hard to not become paranoid again like last time, but she was starting to get nervous.

Finally, she decided to go out and look for Tails outside. When she walked out the door, she noticed something on the doorstep. It was a box with a note on it.

_Missing something?_

_Go to the address below._

_Don't tell a soul of this note._

_Come alone, if you WANT to see your little boyfriend again, that is._

Rouge's eyes widened. Inside the box was a bouquet of roses and a note that said "_I love you, Rouge._" in Tails' handwriting.

As fast as lightning, Rouge took off into the sky, flying towards the address written on the note, tears streaming down her face and a rising anger flaring up inside her.

By the time she reached the address in the note, Rouge was panicked and enraged like never before. She landed in front of a small building. It looked completely normal, but the streets were eerily empty for her.

She knocked on the door, a half of her wanting to hit it so hard that it would break down, but the other half being so scared that it only wanted to barely tap it.

Almost automatically, the door opened with a slow turn of the handle. However, there was no one on the other side.

Rouge walked in and felt the door close behind her. She quickly looked behind, but once again found nothing. She then noticed for the first time that the door was made of steel. It was probably a good idea that she didn't try to break it down, then.

She came to the conclusion that it was an automated door. Not something very common, so at least she knew this was probably the right place.

The room itself was pretty much empty. The walls, floor and ceiling were all dirty, as if they hadn't been cleaned in years. The only thing that caught Rouge's attention was the only other door. She walked over to it and tried to open it. It was unlocked.

The other side of the door was completely different from the rest of the house. The walls, floor and ceiling were a shiny silver color, everything was clean, and the atmosphere seemed much less quiet for some reason. The only thing in this room was an elevator.

"An elevator? In a one-floor house?" Rouge thought to herself. However, since she had no other place to go to, she stepped inside.

The only two options on the elevator were up and down. Since it obviously wasn't going up anytime soon, Rouge pressed down.

The cabin descended into what Rouge guessed to be the underground area of the house. She wasn't sure if she could call that place a 'house' anymore, though, since it seemed completely barren.

With a small 'ding', the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Once again, the whole place had a metallic look to it. This time, the elevator had left her in front of a dimly lit corridor, the only light being the ones on the floor, marking the point where the floor and the walls met.

Rouge walked along the corridor, which led to a much bigger room. Everything was still dark, however.

In a mere second, Rouge was blinded by a strong light. She covered her eyes and stepped back alarmingly, but quickly regained her vision.

The first thing that Rouge saw was the large army of robots that now stood in front of her. She instinctively jumped back and prepared to fight, but a voice stopped her.

"Now, hold on a moment. There's no need to be so aggressive, is there?" The voice was that of a man's. It was deep and scratchy, as if it was a robot speaking.

The army of robots stepped to the sides, giving way for the source of the voice to walk through. It revealed itself as a robot as well, but extremely different in comparison with the others. Its plating was colored a dark blue instead of silver; its head was bigger and looked much thicker, as if it was a safe of some sort.

The robot walked in a strange, sloppy manner. It stopped in front of Rouge. She looked into its glowing red eyes, somehow noticing an odd emotion emanating from them, despite the rest of the face being expressionless.

"Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you at last, Rouge the Bat…" The robot said in its metallic tone. "I looked forward to seeing you in person; after all, not many people can chase down and neutralize my robots…"

"Your robots…? You mean…those thieves were yours?!" Rouge asked, already feeling angry.

"The word 'thief' is a little harsh, don't you think? I prefer to call them 'attention-getters'. I hoped you would be stubborn enough to chase them all the way here, but of course, I wasn't actually expecting you to catch all of them."

Rouge crossed her arms. "Why did you even want to see me? And what the hell was with that note?!" She asked angrily.

"I simply want your cooperation. I have a very simple task that I want you to do. I hoped you would accept simply by offering you a reward, but since the opportunity presented itself, I decided to take…an extra precaution."

The robots walked back, muffled sounds being heard from the distance. When Rouge saw them, she almost broke into tears. They were holding Tails in the air, muffled, with his hands, legs and even his namesakes tied down. The fox was squirming and shaking, trying desperately to free himself from the cold grip of the robots.

When he opened his eyes, Tails immediately screamed a sound that could be heard perfectly even with the muzzle.

"_Rouge!_"

Rouge clenched her fists, her anger multiplied after seeing that.

"I trust you will accept to do this task now, won't you?" The robot leader asked coldly, Rouge being even more angered by the painfully expressionless face it had.

"…If I do what you say, you'll let him go and you'll get the HELL away from us." She said through her gritted teeth.

"Fair enough."

With no other choice in the situation she was in, Rouge agreed to do what the mysterious robot wanted.

* * *

Rouge stood in front of a large building that was very familiar to her.

GUN Headquarters.

She took a deep breath, and approached the door.

The guard that stood at the door noticed her.

"May I see your ID Card?"

Rouge showed her card to the guard and he let her in.

"Welcome back, Miss Rouge." He said as he stepped to the side.

As she walked in, Rouge thought for a moment how weird it felt when she was called 'Miss Rouge' again. It had been quite some time since she had last been in there.

The inside of the building was pretty much as she remembered it. She knew where she had to look, but the hard thing was not to be interrupted by someone in the way.

She walked casually among the group of agents busily going back and forth, and made her way silently to the room she was looking for: the scientific investigations archive, more specifically, the cancelled investigations section.

Rouge was about to walk inside, when someone stopped her from behind with a hand on her shoulder.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Rouge…" She recognized the voice instantly. Of course that if she went inside GUN Headquarters, she would run into Commander Tower.

"…I just wanted to visit. That's all." She said as she turned around.

"Hm. That's strange. I didn't know you liked to hang around the Cancelled Investigations section."

"Yeah, well, I never really saw what it looked like. Might as well check it out sometime, right?"

"Yes, although I expected you to be far away from this place considering your lack of missions recently."

"…I felt a little nostalgic. Is something wrong with that?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Tower remained silent.

"…No. There's nothing wrong with that. I have some matters to attend to. I'll see you some other day, then." He said as he turned around and walked away.

Rouge sighed in relief and turned back to the archive.

Thankfully, it only took her a few minutes to find what she was looking for. She pulled out the dusty file, full of papers and documents.

She looked at it for a moment.

"Why would he want _this_ of all things…?" Shaking the question off her head, she silently took the files and left the archive. She managed to slip out of the building without running into any unwanted conversations.

As soon as she was out in the open, she took off into the air and headed back to the old house at full speed, silently swearing.

"You better not have laid a single finger on him…or I swear you'll regret it…"


End file.
